Category Archives: Associations

Ajay Prakash, President of TAFI, has emphasised the importance of working with the government to devise a method to protect travel agents’ funds. “We must now continue to build on this as a team to ensure security for our travel agents.” Payments to principals by travel agents constitute unsecured credit, and we must ensure that some type of system, such as escrow, guarantee, or underwriting-based methods are in place to keep travel agents’ money safe. We look forward to engaging with the government on this,” he said.

M. Vinod, President, Andaman Association of Tour Operators (AATO) has expressed concern on Andaman & Nicobar shutting down the only civil airport of the islands for four days every week starting from March to May 2022. The reason being the re-carpeting work of the runway. He said, “The decision will prove to be catastrophic for the Andaman Islands’ economy, people’s welfare, lives and livelihoods.” He has written to the Home Minister, Defence Minister and Civil Aviation Minster, highlighting that tourism in Andamans runs exclusively on the airport.

Nilesh Shah, President, Travel & Tourism Association of Goa (TTAG), reveals that international charters – the main artery for travel business in Goa – restarted from December 2021 from Russia and Ukraine. “From Moscow we are welcoming almost 500 passengers every ten days and we expect this to increase. However, the charters from Ukraine have paused for the time being due to the third wave and the civil unrest there. Moreover, TUI was to send four flights per week from the UK – two from Manchester and two from Gatwick. This unfortunately got cancelled because of the third wave. They were to start from January 20, 2022. But we remain hopeful and with the new private airport in Mopa which will be operational by the next season, I think the charter movement will see a boom as there will be no restrictions,” he shares.

Rajiv Mehra, President, IATO, has thanked the MOT and MoCA for reinstating the Commercial Airport Entry Airport Pass (AEP) for recognized tour operators and hotels. “We have been trying for a long time and now the orders have finally come. Now, at least when the borders open, our members can apply for airports passes in the same manner as they used to earlier, except there has been some capping on the number of passes available, for which we were given indication two years back, when the airport passes were being suspended,” he said.

The Hotel and Restaurant Association of Western India (HRAWI) has submitted a representation to the Maharashtra Government requesting for an immediate rollback of the 15 per cent hike in the Excise Licence Fee for FY 2022-23. Citing the unpredictable nature of restrictions and other measures that may come into effect, if and when another pandemic wave breaks out, the Association has also requested that the Government offers a 50 per cent waiver on the fee for FY 2022-23. “Through the last two years, restaurants continued paying for salaries, property taxes, statutory fees, electricity, water and other overheads. However, license holders were unable to carry out the business due to the restrictions imposed by the State. The restaurant industry was severely affected with none to low footfalls. In the pre-pandemic days, the industry did not flinch while paying the excise licence fees but today, it is a different story,” concludes Mr Pradeep Shetty, Sr. Vice President, HRAWI. 

Travel Agents Federation of India (TAFI) has formed seven committees intending to involve more members in leadership roles in TAFI’s activities. The Educational & Communication Committee that produces TAFI fortnightly has tied up with Marriott Hotels and is encouraging its members to sign up for Marriott Hotels Excellence programme. Sensitive and Sustainable Tourism is another thrust area for TAFI, said Ajay Prakash, president, TAFI. The committee is organizing a session on  Sustainable Tourism for its members and training will be imparted to the frontline staff to improve their competence in day-to-day operations. 

Rajnish Kaistha, Hony. Secretary, IATO, has said that the allocation for tourism budget for overseas promotions have been reduced, which in turn would affect the inbound business, especially when the borders open. “Government needs to allocate higher budgets for overseas promotion, publicity and marketing, along with MDA, because that is needed for our survival. The MDA gives us money to go and participate in the overseas trade shows and promotions abroad so that we get more tourists to start with and also do overseas marketing in an aggressive manner, for which higher budgets are needed. Any reduction in that is going to cause bigger damage in the long run and in the immediate future,” he says.

KB Kachru, Chairman Emeritus & Principal Advisor, South Asia, Radisson Hotel Group & VP, HAI about the growth plans for RHG, shared, “Our resort and overall getaway locations are doing well because of domestic tourists. In the last two years domestic tourism has been a huge opportunity. We are growing at the rate of almost one hotel a month, both in opening and signing new deals.”

As the Travel & Tourism sector begins to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, its contribution to the global economy could reach $8.6 trillion this year, according to a study by the World Travel and Tourism Council. Prior to the pandemic, the Travel & Tourism sector generated nearly $9.2 trillion to the global economy in 2019. However, in 2020, the pandemic killed the sector, causing a massive 49.1% drop, representing a loss of nearly $4.5 trillion. 

Secretary Tourism, Arvind Singh had called for a virtual meeting with the Associations and industry stakeholders to discuss and develop “India Vision @ 2047” for the tourism industry. Ajay Prakash, TAFI President gave his inputs and suggested that generating 100 million tourists would require a new mindset among all stakeholders – from luxury hotels and tour operators to the taxi drivers, guides and all other segments of the trade.